Newly elected Karnataka Congress MLA S B Nyamgoud dies in road accident

Senior Congress legislator Siddu Bhimappa Nyamgoud from Karnataka's Bagalkot district died in a road accident on Monday, police said.

He was 71 and leaves behind his widow, two sons and three daughters.

"The accident occurred near Tulasegeri village when the car in which Nyamgoud was travelling crashed into a divider after the driver lost control while trying to avoid a head-on collision with a truck," Tulasegiri police inspector M B Biradar told IANS.

Bagalkot is 530 km from state capital Bengaluru and 20 km from Tulasigeri.

Four persons, including the driver, were injured. They have been admitted to a hospital in Bagalkot.

"The legislator was travelling to Jamkhandi via Bagalkot from Panaji in Goa upon his return from Delhi on Sunday night," Biradar said.

Nyamgoud was re-elected to the state Assembly in the May 12 election, defeating BJP's Kulkarni Shrikant Subrao by 2,795 votes.

The veteran party leader was a Union Minister in the P V Narasimha Rao cabinet in 1990-91.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and many Congress leaders mourned his untimely death.

Karnataka polls: This will be my last election, says Siddaramaiah

As the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 draws closer, top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress leaders are holding back-to-back rallies in the state to boost their respective parties' chances of securing a win in the crucial election. The Karnataka Election Watch and Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Monday analysed affidavits of Karnataka polls candidates, filed with the Election Commission (EC). Of the 2,654 candidates in the fray for the May 12 Karnataka Assembly elections, at least 883 are crorepatis and 645 have criminal cases against them, said the two watchdogs.

"The average assets of the 883 (35 per cent) crorepati candidates are worth Rs 75.4 million. Of the 645 contestants, 254 (10 per cent) face serious criminal cases and 391 (15 per cent) face criminal cases," revealed the study. Affidavits of all the contesting 223 BJP candidates were analysed. Two hundred and eight (93 per cent) of the 223 candidates in fray from the BJP have declared assets worth over Rs 10 million. Of the 2,654 candidates in the fray for the May 12 Karnataka Assembly elections, at least 883 are crorepatis and 645 have criminal cases against them - the highest number among all the parties contesting.

A total of 207 (94 per cent) of the 220 candidates from the ruling Congress, 154 (77 per cent) of the 199 candidates from Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and 199 (18 per cent) of the 1,090 Independents have declared assets more than Rs 10 million.

Karnataka poll updates: Manmohan attacks Modi for 'economic mismanagement'

As the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 draws closer, top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress leaders are holding back-to-back rallies in the state to boost their respective parties' chances of securing a win in the crucial election.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, too, joined the Congress election campaign in the state on Monday, addressing a press conference in Bengaluru. Singh attacked the Modi government for its economic policies, saying that the country was facing a crisis that was avoidable.


Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Karnataka BJP Yuva Morcha workers. Addressing Karnataka BJP workers via NaMo app on Monday, the Prime Minister accused the Opposition of being against new technologies promoted by the central government.

Looking to dethrone the Congress-led government in Karnataka, Modi kick-started a series of election rallies in the poll-bound state on May 1, with a total of 21 rallies scheduled. On Sunday, he addressed rallies in Chitradurga, Raichur, Jamakhandi, and Hubli.
As the Karnataka election inches closer, a political slugfest has erupted in the state, with parties firing a barrage of barbs at one another. Gandhi has advised Prime Minister Modi to "copy" and implement at the Centre the Karnataka government's plan for the welfare of Dalits and Adivasis. Modi, for his part, reminded voters that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party chief Rahul Gandhi were out on bail in connection with a Rs 50-billion (Rs 5,000-crore) scam.

Karnataka polls: Modi rally at Kalaburagi; Rahul gives him F grade; updates

Karnataka Assembly election 2018 is seeing a fierce competition between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday undertaking his third round of campaigning in the poll-bound state and Congress President Rahul Gandhi on the same day visiting Karnataka for an eighth time this year. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also campaign in Karnataka today. While Modi addressed a rally at Kalaburagi early afternoon, Gandhi gave the Modi government an 'F' grade in his report card for its performance in uplifting agriculture in the state.

Ahead of the May 12 Assembly election, Modi had launched his campaign blitzkrieg on Tuesday, with a blistering attack on the Congress party chief Gandhi and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Further, a day after Modi lavished praise on him at an election rally in Karnataka, Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H D Deve Gowda sought to play it down amid speculation of a BJP-JD(S) alliance or tacit understanding between the parties for the election. His remark came after Modi lashed out at Gandhi for "insulting" Gowda, saying that it showed his "arrogance". Countering Modi's statement, the Congress said that its president had not shown any disrespect to Gowda.

Karnataka election: Deve Gowda pours cold water on Modi's hopes; 10 updates

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) has forged an alliance in Karnataka for many constituencies, but still the Congress party will sweep back to power in the forthcoming assembly polls. "In many constituencies, the BJP and the JD-S have joined hands, but they still would not be able to defeat us as the people are with us," Siddaramaiah said, while talking to the reporters.

Further attacking BJP chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, Siddaramaiah said that number of criminal cases has been registered against the former and such "corrupt" person will not get any support from the people.

He said that number of cases have been registered against Yeddyurappa and because of that, he want to come to power in Karnataka.

"Yeddyurappa does not even have minimum knowledge of law, I have no criminal charges against me. There are 23 cases against him, which is why he wants to be Chief Minister. The people will not support anybody who is corrupt," Siddaramaiah said.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Deve Gowda poured cold water on Modi's hopes of pre-poll alliance. Gowda insisted there was no possibility of his party tying up with the BJP ahead of the high stakes Karnataka assembly election. Distancing himself from the PM's statement, Deve Gowda said, "a Kannadiga had become the PM. How Siddaramaiah tried to demolish the Kannadigas pride, taking that as a background, he (PM Modi) said this is how Congress gives respect to Kannadigas, this does not mean a 'gathbandhan' (alliance)"

Karnataka polls: Development over politics for BJP, says Modi via NaMo app

In the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly election on May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with the Bharatiya janata Party (BJP) candidates, office bearers, elected representatives and party workers in the poll-bound state through the NaMo app. PM Modi, during the interaction, encouraged those engaged in the Assembly poll campaign in Karnataka and also provided guidance to senior party leaders, MPs, and MLAs.
Meanwhile, Modi expressed his deepest condolences to the victimes of the deadly school van-train collision that took place early this morning in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. PM Modi ensured that the Uttar Pradesh government and railway department would take appropriate action.

As the Prime Minister began speaking, he fostered the three-pronged agendas of BJP -- development, fast-paced development and all-round development. Modi also raised the issue of caste and religion-based politics, as he said: “Development is not an issue for those who dwell on caste-based politics; they give a lollipop of fake promises to a particular community and then do same with another community in next elections. If you analyse last few elections, you will realise how few political parties have indulged only in dividing societies on religious lines. They exploit emotions of some community before elections and forget them after the elections”, reported ANI.